A $5-per-ticket restoration fee that went into effect at Thalia Mara Hall this summer, to pay for the city’s portion of a recent makeover, could make some shows not worth the risk for promoters.

Thalia Mara Hall’s new $5-per-ticket restoration fee ups the risk for concert and show promoters at the hall, which could hinder some bookings. Uncertainty over it has already tanked a 2014-15 season of Broadway touring shows for the Jackson area.

But the venue’s calendar is starting to ink in, with comedian/political commentator Bill Maher in November and the premier classical Chinese dance company Shen Yun next March.

A concert pairing six-time Country Music Association Musician of the Year Mac McAnally and the Coral Reefer Band with the Mississippi Opera Symphony is planned for this fall or winter at Thalia Mara Hall, date to be announced; the event is a benefit for Extra Table. And, the venue is negotiating with comedy star Bill Cosby on a late February date, said Michael Raff, the city’s deputy director for human and cultural services.

The first concert since the fee went into effect — neo soul artist Maxwell Aug. 6 — generated $5,785 from the 1,157 tickets sold, Raff said; that’ll go toward the city’s of Jackson’s $2.8 million in infrastructure replacements and upgrades in the venue’s recent $5.3 million makeover.

A gospel concert and a couple of gospel plays are on the books in upcoming months.

The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra comes home to Thalia Mara Hall with its flagship Bravo series, starting Oct. 25, plus two indoor pops concerts in the season ahead. Now in subscription sales, MSO is getting strong response on its season, MSO president and executive director Michael Beattie said. “Essentially, we folded the fee into our prices,” adding it on top. Single tickets go on sale toward the end of the month. “I think people really appreciated the need and the result” of Thalia Mara Hall’s renovation, he said.

Where the $5-per-ticket fee can really pinch isn’t on big-name concerts but riskier ones, “like a Lyle Lovett,” Jackson promoter Ardenland’s Arden Barnett said. “There’s a very fine line on being able to do a show like that,” he said. “You just have to have a certain number of people come. The last time we did Lyle Lovett, we barely got out alive at the ticket price we did.” To do it again with an extra $5 per ticket might cost enough ticket sales to lose money on the show.

On a Ringo Starr show, the $5 hike wouldn’t be a factor on doing the show. But “on the quote-unquote ‘cool’ shows,” such as singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne, “pretty hot right now,” it’d be close; 100 tickets would make or break “a lot.” In another instance, management for the alt-rock band Needtobreathe had concerns over the $5-per-ticket fee, Barnett said.

“It’s going to have an effect,” he said, but will likely settle in over time. “We’re just going to have to learn to live with it and suck it up. It may cost us some cool shows.” Barnett books the bulk of his concerts at the much more intimate Duling Hall; he’ll do shows at Thalia Mara Hall, but “a lot more deep thought” has to go into them. Added as a facility fee, the $5 restoration fee hikes a ticket price that’ll continue to climb for buyers with Ticketmaster service charges and then credit card fees (a percentage) on top of that.

Thalia Mara Hall’s $5 fee bumps up promoters’ break-even line, which could mean the tipping point among many factors involved in shows and pricing.

For example, a marginal artist that might be worth a gamble to draw 1,200 people may now need a crowd of 1,400 to break even, said Drake Elder, coliseum box office manager and central Mississippi event coordinator.

W. Kessler Ltd., which has been booking a Best of Broadway series for more than 30 years, passed on the upcoming season because of the fee. “I can’t say we’ve quit. Right now, we’re kind of keeping an eye on things and would like to know how the community is going to react,” spokeswoman Averyell Kessler said. “We may revisit our decision.” They’d had to cancel a portion of last season when the hall was closed for renovation, including “Million Dollar Quartet,” but haven’t looked too close at offerings since.